Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-06-25
MUST BUCKET SHOPS GO?
A QUESTION That IS SERIOUSLY
sGiTATiNG CHICAGO.
VIII the New Law Prohibiting Gambling
In Grain Outside the Board OF Trade
He Rigidly Enforceds-Some of the
Men Who Hun Bucket shops.


Men Who Run Bucket shops.
Special Correspondencel
CHICAGO, June 2l-The Illinois legis,s
ture having lsss.,. law making the keeping
of bucket shop miSiemeanor after July
!, there is considerable excitement in the
vicinity of tie Chicago hoard OF trade. where
these fungi of modern speculation most do
congregate. The bucket shop is big institu-
tion cut here in the west, and IL this new law
be rigidly enforced ii viii DESTROY one Of our
greatest industries. 4 good authority re-
GENTLY estimated that there are 100 bucket
shops in the country, outside ut Chicago, fully
oI.ebSlf Of these being backed by Chicago
capital or controlled bv combinations or
pools having their base Of operations in this
eity. la fact. the grain trade" a. il is
called here, ar grain gambling" a PLAIN
spoken people put IT, has been diverted to
such an extent from the regular or board Of
trade channels aud TO the bucket shops that
the Chicago board, the biggest gambling shop
Of them all, has made persistent but unsuc-
ce~sful efforts to close up the outside con
Germs. While Wall street and the Chicago
board of trade are complaining of dull times
and q scarcity Of traders, II is unieniable that
never before was there much samhling in
grain and stocks. But it is the bucket shops
that reapinG the harvest, and am not sur
priseI 10 hear that there are IN this city a
half dozen men who ia a few wears have
amassed out of the bucket shop business for
tunes ranging from S2i1,0Ip TO 500. 900
James A. Murphy, who few years ago was
d clerk IN brokers Office. can now size up
SSU,0C. Riley, the pool seller and bucket
shop backer, Is worth nearly $4,000, and
Dave Pulsifer could raise s3oN 900 in twenty
four hours Dan Lorini' and Pope & Pea
body, who used to run big bucket shop in
the Palmer house, are y. aid 10 lie millionaires
There are plenty more aho have been almost
as successful, but with whose standing l am
not familiar. Jack Havefly. the minstrel
msn, who got his first start in life by
making a big winning at faro, and
who has been an inveterate gamester
and speculator ever since, il q partner
ln = big bucket shop and pool room right
scross the street from the board of trade.
The bucket shop business is sll very fine for
those who stand on the inside and rake down
the profits, but il Is even worse for the Gus
tomer-the sucker or producer than
the regular and perhaps more respectable
game, And II is no wonder that Chicago
contains many men who have grown rich
pat of the buckets, for all such concerns,
wherever located, find it convenient TO have a
Chicago connection. This city is the stomach
it woSld hardly be correct to say the brains
of the big devil fish which has thrown out
its tentacles 10 all parts of the country Five
o. six years ago there were hardly any buck
e. shops, here or elsewhere. But finally two
Or three A.henIers managed TO have an order
issued on the board Of trade that none of its
members was 70 handle trade for less than
the regular commission of one-quarter cent
= bushel Almost I'M day bucket shops
sprsng into existence. Up 10 this time couil-
try brokers bad been wiring the orders of
their customers 10 their correspondents in
this city, by whom the orders We're filed in
the regular way. the city brokers dividing
the commissions with their country agents
Under the new rule this could not be done,
and Immediately crowd of bucket
shops sprany up. Stung by the loss
Of trade tine big board endeavored to re
trace its steps and 10 crush out its many
little rivals. 1t tried to prevent the bucket
people getting its quotations, and appealed 10
the courts for protection, but found itself
Dutwitted at every turn. One concern was
enabled, through the operations OF All in
junction, to obtain Chicago quotations via
New York. receiving them over ZOO miles !
Of wire within tGree minutes after they were
drst posted in the exchange hall here, and |
distributing them to hundreds OF branch es- |
iablishments throughout the country. After
:wo years OF fruItless litigation and the ex- /
penditure Of 81, 900, the Chicago toard con I
:uded that il would be better to make Its |
quotations free TO all than to help perpetuate |
. bucket shop monopoly by driving all the |
little shops to ole piratical concern for quo |
:ations
So now the country is fun of bucket shops.
IL is in the country that these irregular gam
bling concerns find most of their support
The country" in speculative parlsnce, is
outside of Chicago and Wall |
street The country" is the bucket shops
.hief producer, just as the mechanic, clerk or
other wage worker is the unfailing SUCKER"
Tor the faro dens which still, reform admin
stration TO the contrary notwithstanding,
flourish unmolested in this city
Bucket shop" a phrase, had its origin
lbout six years ago, when James Murphy, a
Chicago sporting man, started little shop
wherein deals in grain could he made in
mailer quantities than the 600 bushel lots
required by the rules of the board Murphy
y Szs the father of the bucket shop business,
md at the beginning he was simply catering
% the small trade. As the boys used to say:
III You don't want 10 buy bushel of wheat,
Why don't you go down TO Murphy'sf He'll
'ell You a bucketfuL" In the bucket shop,
IS nearly every body knows. all transactions
Ire simply wagers between the customers and
he proprietors. The speculator, in buying
900 bushels of wheat at So ON a cent margin,
simply bets xlo that wheat will 60 up to 81
Defore it falls back 10 So. The proprietor
,ets that it doesn't. If the price goes to s.
he speculator doubles his moI.ey, less com
mission, and il it goes 10 IS he is entitled to
iraw So, But if the price falls back to 81
ie is closed out at a total loss unless Der
nance, he wants TO remain in" by sending
10 more good money after the $40 that has
zone to the bad The deal" never reaches
he board OF trade at all. and of course has no
ffiuence whatever on the market, though
he bucket shop bull may fondly imagine
hat he is contributing his mite 10 the ground
well which shall result III a genuine boom
OF course, the speculator gets the worst of
I. just as ia betting on the turn of a card
i faro, the customer must do the guess
ng, while the hank has the od.ls in its favor.
borrower, the bankers are able to prevent
heir customers hitting them for long profits,
nd that in the simplest manner As rule
ueket shop gamblers deal i'll comparatively
mall lots, and, being over confident chaps
nd anxious TO make much money as ,
ossible, they generally trade on very mar
ow margins A bulge in their direction gives ,
hem good profits, but very small turn Of
he market tother way quickly wipes them ,
ut More often than not the turn is in the
'rong direction, though one would think that
5 long traders are free 10 buy OF sell, as
hey piease--that is, play wheat open or cop
ered-sbout one half Of them would profit,
Ihile the other one half were losing But | ,
ere comes in II strange condition Four